Figure 1

Evolution of the scratches on (a) Si(100), (b) Si(110), and (c) Si(111) surfaces. The scratches were produced at a linearly increasing load from 0.3 to 6.0 mN. Each AFM image (2 × 2 μm2) was taken from the appointed segment of the same scratch on silicon with a given crystal plane. The arrows on the cross-sectional profiles indicate the appearance of the groove.